Themes: Expecting a Baby, Fathers and Daughters, Generation Gap
Main Cast: David Janssen, Kim Darby, Carl Reiner, Andrew Prine
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
Plot
Time for Giving is the British title for the American comedy film Generation. This exercise in late-sixties "mod"-ness is based on William Goodhart's Broadway play, which originally starred Henry Fonda. David Janssen takes over Fonda's role as the harried father of rebellious daughter Kim Darby. It was bad enough when Darby married kooky Peter Duel and moved to Greenwich Village. Now Darby is pregnant, and she and her husband insist upon partaking of that new hippie craze known as "natural childbirth," dispensing with the aid of an obstetrician. Fortunately for the Establishment status quo, Darby's husband gets cold feet, and loyal family doctor Carl Reiner is brought in when the kid is ready to come out of the chute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Perhaps Generation was more palatable on Broadway, where Henry Fonda's enormously appealing personality made it into a modest hit. Brought to the screen with the significantly less engaging David Janssen subbing for Fonda, the result is a painfully dated, only intermittently amusing look at the generation gap. Although scenarist William Goodhart tries to be fair and let members of both generations have their say, the film is still weighted against the "kooky" young couple -- and Goodhart's better-than-average ear for dialogue goes seriously deaf when writing the "with it" dialogue for the younger set. This would matter less if the screenplay offered rich comic opportunities in terms of its plot or characters, but the would-be farce comes across as forced. Director George Schaefer doesn't help matters with his hit-or-miss direction and sometimes sluggish pacing. Janssen tries hard, but he lacks both sufficient charm and comic timing. Kim Darby and Peter Duel are fine but somewhat bland as the young couple, but Andrew Prine is considerably better as the cynically efficient PR man, and Carl Reiner is quite good as the unwanted obstetrician, making his scenes work far better than they have any right to. Reiner's not enough to save the movie, but he does make it come alive for a good stretch or two. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Noel Taylor - Costume Designer, Fred Gammon - First Assistant Director, George Schaefer - Director, James T. Heckert - Editor, Dave Grusin - Composer (Music Score), Ben Chapman - Composer (Music Score), Dino Fekaris - Songwriter, Nick Zesses - Songwriter, Bea Verdi - Songwriter, Robert Emmet Smith - Production Designer, Lionel Lindon - Cinematographer, Frederick Brisson - Producer, Hoyle Barrett - Set Designer, William Goodhart - Screenwriter, William Goodhart - Play Author
